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ransportation directors and supervisors are used to belt tightening when it comes to budgets. But the


continuous ramifications of COVID-19 and other external community factors are forcing transportation departments to operate even leaner when it comes to budgeting for cleaning supplies, the necessary overtime for additional cleaning of buses, and personal protec- tive equipment (PPE). The U.S. political climate isn’t portray- ing a clear representation of what the coming school years might look like. Even though Congress passed President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan,and some student transporters caution that money won’t be flowing to school districts any time soon. Not all funds from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act passed last March has been spent. Meanwhile, school bus contractors are still awaiting funding from the Coronavirus Eco- nomic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Act that was passed at the end of last year. Plus, with more leeway on foreclo-


Like most student transporters, school bus driver Lakendrea Kennard of Spring ISD in Texas is waiting to see how many students she’ll drive next school year as well as what happens to the transportation budget.


sure notices and some homeowners unable to pay their property taxes, money trickling into schools has hit a roadblock. If that’s not enough, trans- portation directors are dealing with decreased student enrollment and rising oil prices, all of which are result- ing in words like “no” and “cut more,” when asking their superintendents to approve purchase requests for the fiscal year 2022. Dr. Michelle Reid, the superintendent


of the North Shore School District in Washington state, understands trans- portation’s needs. In order to achieve adequate social distancing, the district moved around money to purchase 10 additional buses. North Shore did re- ceive a total of $500,000 in CARES Act funds but added nearly twice as many district dollars for a total of $1.4 million to purchase cleaning supplies, PPE and preparations for returning to school. Reid, who was named the 2021 AASA Superintendent of the Year, said she hopes more federal funding will backfill


what has already been spent. Superintendent Christy Perry of


Salem-Keizer Public Schools in Oregon shared a similar sentiment. She said she hopes additional federal funding helps patch up the deficit that the CARES Act didn’t cover. Perry, a finalist for Super- intendent of the Year award, told School Transportation News in February that the district had to spend millions of dollars on additional technology, alone. In addition to more cleaning protocols and school-based health assistance purchases, additional funding will be used to help backpay those expenses. But not everyone is as optimistic.


Jack Mann, director of transportation for Spring Independent School District (ISD) located in Houston, cautioned that districts shouldn’t rely on the fed- eral relief packages when making their budget requests. He said he doesn’t anticipate the latest relief funds to be dispersed until 2022 or 2023, noting that money certainty won’t be available this year. “Let’s put it this way, I’m not counting on it,” he added. “I’m oper- ating as though I’m not going to get anything.”


Mann said Spring ISD did use CARES


Act funds to purchase hand sanitiz- er stations for all 356 route buses, as well as PPE including face masks and gloves. But he is most concerned about the overtime pay drivers are owed for extra hours spent deep cleaning the buses following each route. “Our overtime is hitting my budget


significantly,” he said. “Because we allow for us to have adequate time to disinfect between rides, we had to adjust our bell schedules and now we operate on a three-tier system.” Mann added that there is a full hour


between each tier start time, so no one has to rush. Still, his staff is run- ning into overtime on a near daily basis. “The good news is, or the bad news depending on how you look at it, [overtime] hasn’t impacted us as bad as I thought,” he explained. “Simply because we have less field trips. And so, the field trip expenditures are down because essentially all we’re doing is athletics. … it’s kind of offset. We will toward the end


Find more information on recent district school bus purchases at stnonline. com/tag/ grants.


www.stnonline.com 41


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